Room to Grow
by HecateA
Summary: Harry didn't really think gardening would be the answer to his post-war problems, but he hadn't thought that he'd ever find a home like the Burrow either. Oneshot. Written for the House Competition, Round 5 Drabble.


**Author's Note: **Harry's reaction to Molly's hug in Goblet of Fire is so important to me and every now and then I think of it and write things like this. She's got her flaws, but we don't deserve Molly Weasley.

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **Deals with the canonical child abuse and neglect Harry survived, as well as canon character deaths and grief. Also discusses food and access to food.

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**House:** Hufflepuff

**Role:** Head Girl

**Category:** Round 5, Drabble

**Prompt:** [Food] Zucchini

**Word Count:** 842

**Stacked with: **Hogwarts House Cup; MC4A; Spring Bingo; By Any Other Name; Specious Narrative; Snicket Fence

**Individual Challenge(s): **Gryffindor MC (x2); Seeds; Spring Rain (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash (Y)

**Representation(s): **Harry's childhood, food withholding, child neglect

**Bonus challenge(s): **Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Not a Lamp)

**Tertiary bonus challenge(s):** Ameliorate

_**Spring Bingo entry information:**_

**Space Address : **2D

**Prompt: **Sunshine

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**Room to Grow**

"Can I help you, Mrs. Weasley?"

She looked over her shoulder and there was Harry, nervously tugging on the sleeves of his red jumper. She'd cut his hair a few days ago which had helped to clean him up, but he still looked far too thin. The pockets under his eyes were only growing.

"Don't trouble yourself, dear," she said. "Kingsley's given you the day off from official business for a reason, you should rest."

"I…. I rather be doing something. If you need help, really, with anything at all…."

Molly recognized his nervous energy. It matched the one she had lately been channeling into her abundance of knitting, the more-extravagant-than-usual meals, the extra clean house... There was nothing to be done about so many of the things that had taken place last month; now that the storm had passed and the dust had settled, doing anything at all helped ease the shock and the helplessness. When she'd woken up with the sun streaking through the window and onto her face, she'd known that tending to the vegetable patch would serve that need for today.

"I was just about to sow these zucchini seeds, if you'd like," she said.

Harry nodded and knelt next to her, rolling up his sleeves. She noticed her brother's old watch still on his wrist.

He followed her instructions to the T as she explained how they should plant the seeds in hills, babbling a bit about pollination and succession planting and how they'd protect the seedlings against slugs and squash borers. They worked side-by-side quietly. Harry had been quieter than usual since he'd come back, which she supposed was to be expected, after all…

"I think I may have saved too many seeds last year," Molly said.

"I love zucchini," Harry said.

Molly smiled. "I suppose I could transform the whole garden into a zucchini patch, and you'd be able to devour all the soups and loaves I'd make from it on your own."

Harry smiled, and then looked away. "Sorry."

He chewed his lip nervously and didn't respond. She gave him a moment.

"Ron told me that while you were all… traveling… you were the one who was the least bothered by the hunger," Molly said. "He thought, and I think he's right, that you seemed quite used to it."

Again, Harry didn't answer, so Molly knew that they were right.

"I tried not to bother anyone with that," he said quietly.

"You are bothering no one at all," Molly said. "This doesn't have to be a secret, dear."

"I've never been hungry here," he said.

"Thank goodness," Molly said. "And you never will be. And you never should have been anywhere, for that matter. But this is a place where you never have to worry about taking space, or being, or eating. We're happy to have you—all of you—home. You and Hermione can both stay for as long as you like and need to."

"Thank you," Harry said. "We really appreciate it, even after all the… the…"

He trailed off and reached for another seed—but there was nothing left to plant, nothing he could do with his hands to keep them busy. He stared at the dirt under his fingernails.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"When we thought you had died, it was like seeing Fred laying in the Great Hall again," Molly said. She couldn't believe she maintained such composure as the words left her mouth. She hadn't been able to say his name, look anyone in the eye when she talked about him, or generally keep it together when the topic had come up. But Harry was at stake; just a boy kneeling in the dirt, sunshine streaking across the side of his face.

Harry bit his lip and blinked a few times. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly," Molly said. "The important thing is that we have you here to eat all this zucchini."

Harry laughed a bit, which made her smile.

"I like feeding people," Molly said. "I don't just do it because I'm a mother. Everything from growing produce to collecting eggs in the morning makes me feel good—like I'm taking care of people as best as I can."

"Do you think you could teach me how to cook?" Harry asked. "I… I think I'd like that. Knowing how to handle and make food."

She smiled. _This _they could do. This could be a solid foundation to grow on.

"Only if you promise to eat it all up," Molly said. "I know I say it every summer, but we need to put some meat on your bones."

He offered her a smile, which was brighter than the sun that had inspired her to garden in the first place. She smiled and reached out to pat his arm before pulling a pack of seeds from her apron pocket.

"Here," she said. "Let's plant the snap peas too."

She had cabbage and tomatoes and green beans and cucumber and so much more on her list as well. They all had plenty of room to grow.


End file.
